sorry.”
“ No, it was me. You said you remembered. I don’t understand…”
“Neither did I, but I think I do now.” God, she hoped she was right. “Just before they left, one of them leaned down and whispered that he was sorry.” She heard Will growl at the same time she felt it rumble deep in his chest. “Don’t you see,” she rushed on, “when you repeated the same thing to me tonight, it triggered the memory of what you’d said in the cave, but it was all jumbled in my mind and I couldn’t distinguish between the two of you.”
“Subconsciously, you must have known though. Why else would you say you trusted me?”
Serena pressed herself closer to him. “ You know why. Oh , Will, why didn’t you just tell me you had nothing to do with it instead of letting me believe such horrible things about you?”
“But you didn’t believe it,” he said softly.
Shame washed over her in unrelenting waves. “You’re just trying to give me an out . I don’t deserve it.”
“Serena…you wouldn’t be in my arms right now if that was true.”
She thought about it for a minute and realized he was right. Maybe her mind had been confused , but in her heart, she must have known Will wasn’t capable of hurting her. Slowly, she began to relax, and when he asked her to tell him what she remembered, the suffocating fear that usually accompanied any attempt to recall that night had nearly dissipated altogether. There wasn’t much to tell, it still seemed more like the hazy remnants of a dream than an actual memory, but she did her best.
***
Will was disappointed. Serena didn’t seem to remember anything except that he’d told her he was sorry and then covered her with his jacket before lifting her up off the ground. He had hoped for more than a few scattered memories but was grateful that even without them Serena trusted what her heart was telling her and had ultimately placed her trust in him as well.
“It’s getting late,” he said when she finished. “You’re going to be dead on your feet tomorrow if you don’t get some sleep.”
“I know you’re right, but…I want to know more. Like how you knew what happened and where to find me.”
“It’s a long story and I promise to tell you everything I know, but maybe it would be better if we waited until tomorrow. I’ll let you cook me dinner and we can talk afterwards.”
“You’ll let me cook dinner? Your generosity is overwhelming,” she replied dryly.
Will chuckled. “Yeah, that’s just the kind of guy I am.” He gave her one last hug before letting her go and immediately felt the emptiness begin to creep in. “Good-night,” he said as he slid off the bed.
“Good-night, Will. Thank you for…being here.”
Always. “We’ll talk more tomorrow night.”
“You aren’t going out with McKinley tomorrow? What I mean is, it’s a Friday night and I assumed…” Serena cut herself off with a n indifferent shrug of her shoulders. “I’m just saying that if you already have a date with McKinley, I don’t want you to feel obligated to spend the evening with me.”
“I don’t have a date tomorrow or any night…no, that’s not exactly true.” Will sat back down on the edge of the bed. “We have a lot to talk about tomorrow, including McKinley.”
“You don’t have to explain…”
“Yes, I do. I agreed to go out with her on Saturday but I never had any intention of going through with it. No, wait…that’s a really bad place to start. When McKinley was here earlier she said some things that led me to believe she was plotting something.”
Serena's brows drew together, a small frown beginning to form. “Plotting what?”
Will couldn’t help laughing. “Thank
“ No, it was me. You said you remembered. I don’t understand…”
“Neither did I, but I think I do now.” God, she hoped she was right. “Just before they left, one of them leaned down and whispered that he was sorry.” She heard Will growl at the same time she felt it rumble deep in his chest. “Don’t you see,” she rushed on, “when you repeated the same thing to me tonight, it triggered the memory of what you’d said in the cave, but it was all jumbled in my mind and I couldn’t distinguish between the two of you.”
“Subconsciously, you must have known though. Why else would you say you trusted me?”
Serena pressed herself closer to him. “ You know why. Oh , Will, why didn’t you just tell me you had nothing to do with it instead of letting me believe such horrible things about you?”
“But you didn’t believe it,” he said softly.
Shame washed over her in unrelenting waves. “You’re just trying to give me an out . I don’t deserve it.”
“Serena…you wouldn’t be in my arms right now if that was true.”
She thought about it for a minute and realized he was right. Maybe her mind had been confused , but in her heart, she must have known Will wasn’t capable of hurting her. Slowly, she began to relax, and when he asked her to tell him what she remembered, the suffocating fear that usually accompanied any attempt to recall that night had nearly dissipated altogether. There wasn’t much to tell, it still seemed more like the hazy remnants of a dream than an actual memory, but she did her best.
***
Will was disappointed. Serena didn’t seem to remember anything except that he’d told her he was sorry and then covered her with his jacket before lifting her up off the ground. He had hoped for more than a few scattered memories but was grateful that even without them Serena trusted what her heart was telling her and had ultimately placed her trust in him as well.
“It’s getting late,” he said when she finished. “You’re going to be dead on your feet tomorrow if you don’t get some sleep.”
“I know you’re right, but…I want to know more. Like how you knew what happened and where to find me.”
“It’s a long story and I promise to tell you everything I know, but maybe it would be better if we waited until tomorrow. I’ll let you cook me dinner and we can talk afterwards.”
“You’ll let me cook dinner? Your generosity is overwhelming,” she replied dryly.
Will chuckled. “Yeah, that’s just the kind of guy I am.” He gave her one last hug before letting her go and immediately felt the emptiness begin to creep in. “Good-night,” he said as he slid off the bed.
“Good-night, Will. Thank you for…being here.”
Always. “We’ll talk more tomorrow night.”
“You aren’t going out with McKinley tomorrow? What I mean is, it’s a Friday night and I assumed…” Serena cut herself off with a n indifferent shrug of her shoulders. “I’m just saying that if you already have a date with McKinley, I don’t want you to feel obligated to spend the evening with me.”
“I don’t have a date tomorrow or any night…no, that’s not exactly true.” Will sat back down on the edge of the bed. “We have a lot to talk about tomorrow, including McKinley.”
“You don’t have to explain…”
“Yes, I do. I agreed to go out with her on Saturday but I never had any intention of going through with it. No, wait…that’s a really bad place to start. When McKinley was here earlier she said some things that led me to believe she was plotting something.”
Serena's brows drew together, a small frown beginning to form. “Plotting what?”
Will couldn’t help laughing. “Thank
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